Port Huron Float Down event has U.S., Canadian Coast Guards issuing cautions, warning of dangers
The "float down," as it has been known for decades, historically happens on the third Sunday in August. The route is about 7½ miles along the St. Clair River from Port Huron to Marysville.
This year's event is expected to take place Aug. 17. First responder agencies that are responsible for providing assistance on the river ask that people avoid participating.
"This is an inherently dangerous activity. As first responders, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Canadian Coast Guard recommend that people do not take part in this event," read a joint press release issued by the Canadian and U.S. Coast Guard agencies. "Past Float Downs have resulted in tragedy."
The complications of the event result from a fast-moving current, along with the potential for summer thunderstorms that can create dangerous boating conditions.
One example was in 2014, when a 19-year-old described as an experienced swimmer drowned during the event. A search and rescue effort involving first responders from both countries was suspended after 36 hours.
Another example was in 2016, when high winds and heavy rains forced about 1,500 participants to land along the Ontario shoreline near the communities of Sarnia (across the border from Port Huron) and Corunna (across the border from Marysville).
Some of those floaters were injured or had hypothermia from the experience.
Beyond the primary safety concerns, there are border crossing considerations in the event someone comes ashore or lands in an unintended location. The St. Clair River sets the international line between the United States and Canada.
The floaters who found themselves pushed onto the Ontario shoreline in 2016 were "stranded and subject to Canadian and U.S. border security with no identification, money, or means of communication."
Under the authority of Transport Canada, and supported by the U.S. Coast Guard, marine vessel traffic restrictions will be in effect from noon to 7 p.m. Sunday because of the risk of a motorized boat colliding with a floater.
Such marine restrictions have also been invoked in previous years.
"If you choose to participate, you are strongly encouraged to take several precautions," the Coast Guard agencies said.
Those recommendations from the Coast Guard include:
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Made in Hawaii Festival: What you need to know
HONOLULU (KHON2) — Made in Hawaii is back this weekend at the Hawaii Convention Center, and with it will come loads of traffic, on the roads, in the parking lot and even on foot. Here's what Made in Hawaii wants you to know before you hit the road: Salty Wahine Unveils Salt-Free Flavor Innovation at Made in Hawaii Festival Parking will be rough The street parking surrounding the convention center is minimal. So minimal that even the earliest of risers will probably miss out. So Made in Hawaii is recommending to seek alternative options when it comes to parking. 'With the number of vendors, workers, staff, volunteers, you can do the numbers. There's not really going to be access to parking on site,' said Olena Heu, Made in Hawaii Spokesperson. 'So we do recommend that people find parking in other areas.' Even parking nearby will likely be filled up, so it's also recommended to consider other methods of transportation to get to the event. 'Personally I would suggest ridesharing, taxi, getting dropped off, save the hassle,' Heu Moana parking may be risky While an easy alternative could be parking at Ala Moana, Made in Hawaii gently reminds customers it's at their own risk. It is possible to find free parking at the mall, but again, it could be limited. Other areas are paid parking only. 'Of course there are stalls that are only those that are shopping at Ala Moana center,' Heu said. 'So when we say if you're going to park there and come to the festival, you're parking at your own risk.' Kupuna accomadations Made in Hawaii is offering a Kupuna rest area, where Kupuna can sit and relax while their group waits in line. They are then welcome to join the rest of their group once it gets closer to the front of the line. Kupuna who aren't accompanied by younger companions are also invited to skip ahead to the line, so that they don't have to be standing for long periods of time. There will be signs to indicate the Kupuna Rest Area, and is highly encouraged and welcome to all Kupuna. Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news Navigation will be easier This year, Made in Hawaii is color coding the different lanes, with images on the ground, and with different banners. There will also be a color coded map, aiming to help direct guests to different vendors quicker, which is available online. 'Last year we did welcome over 70,000 people to this event, so as you can imagine it might be quite crowded sometimes shoulder to shoulder,' Heu said. 'Check out the map online. If you didn't already know, come and figure out what vendors you want to visit first and where they are located.' Find more Hawaii, Oahu, Maui and Kauai news here Tickets are available NOW The event is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are available online now, and it's highly encouraged to get tickets in advance to keep lines moving efficiently. The line will be adjacent to Atkinson Drive. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Construction commences on The Dunes Fort Lauderdale hotel
Moss, a US-based construction company, has partnered with G. Holdings and Marriott International to commence construction of The Dunes Fort Lauderdale, an Autograph Collection Hotel, in Florida. This project aims to be the first Autograph Collection-branded property in Fort Lauderdale, and is strategically located at A1A at 441 South Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard. The hotel is being developed by GraniteFL, a part of the G. Holdings Group, with Moss appointed as the construction manager. The 16-storey hotel, spanning approximately 206,000ft², is estimated at over $175m, and will offer 205 guest rooms. Amenities at the hotel will include an ocean-facing restaurant, a mezzanine-level event venue, a pool and bar deck on the third floor, and a rooftop bar and dining space offering panoramic views. G. Holdings founder and CEO Harry Gross said: 'The Dunes Fort Lauderdale represents a long-held vision for Fort Lauderdale Beach. 'We're proud to work with Marriott and Moss to bring to life this distinctive destination - a place for locals and global travellers to gather, recharge, and enjoy the vibrancy of the neighbourhood.' Designed by FSMY Architects & Planners, the hotel will be a blend of contemporary style with coastal influences, utilising natural materials and clean lines to suit its surroundings. Studio Munge's interior design aims to include textural details, warm colours, and features to enhance the guest experience. Local officials, civic leaders, project partners, and the design team have attended the ground-breaking ceremony. Moss president Brett Atkinson stated: 'This project reflects everything Moss values - collaboration, community, and excellence. 'We're honoured to work alongside G. Holdings, Marriott, and the talented design and engineering team to shape a new chapter in Fort Lauderdale's architectural story.' "Construction commences on The Dunes Fort Lauderdale hotel " was originally created and published by World Construction Network, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
How a boutique hotel owner rebranded to Hyatt following Standard deal
This story was originally published on Hotel Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Hotel Dive newsletter. Earlier this week, Hyatt announced that World of Hyatt loyalty members can now earn and redeem points at participating Bunkhouse Hotels properties. Hyatt assumed the Bunkhouse brand — including roughly a dozen boutique hotels centered on design, music and community-driven events — in October as part of its acquisition of lifestyle hotel operator Standard International. While many Bunkhouse-branded hotels are set to remain under the flag following the deal, Hotel Genevieve in Louisville, Kentucky, recently converted to JdV by Hyatt, a collection of independent hotels. Following the transition, Stephen Wendell, CEO of Mountain Shore Properties, which owns Hotel Genevieve, sat down with Hotel Dive to share the logistics behind the rebranding, how the hotel is faring one year after the Hyatt-Standard deal was first announced and why the competitive lifestyle segment poses a big opportunity for hotel players industrywide. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity. STEPHEN WENDELL: When you do a Standard or Bunkhouse project, you're paying them design fees and technical services fees to pre-open, and they help you concept the property. They also serve as manager. I call this a 'manchize' agreement. It's very unlike anything you do with traditional brands today, where you pay them franchise fees and they give you the rules of the road, then you hire your own management company, branding company and interior design company. 'We built this to be a fully identifiable boutique hotel, and any good boutique hotel should not identify with whatever larger brand it's affiliated with, or who's managing it." Stephen Wendell CEO of Mountain Shore Properties Hotel Genevieve is staying in the same family, which is now the lifestyle division at Hyatt, but it's moved from this 'manchize' agreement to a traditional franchise agreement. As a result, we brought in a different third-party management company to operate the hotel, Olympia. However, Hotel Genevieve has stayed largely the same. We built this to be a fully identifiable boutique hotel, and any good boutique hotel should not identify with whatever larger brand it's affiliated with, or who's managing it. It should be its own thing. I think we've done a good job of continuing the vision of Hotel Genevieve, but in the background, a lot has happened. To transfer to a brand system where Hyatt's reservation system, loyalty program and property management system are acting in the background, there is so much, technologically, that has to happen. Our PMS, for example, changed to Hyatt's Opera. The reservation system also changed, as did the third-party company that we use to market the hotel. We had to build a whole new website. Hotel Genevieve has the same owners, but we've changed management companies, therefore we had to change banking processes. Those are some of the many examples of changes that had to be made while continuously operating the hotel. It would be a much easier task if we were preparing to open and setting up all those systems, but we needed everything to die one day and at 12:01 a.m. the next, be back up and running. As of June 26, we were converted over. It happened overnight like it was supposed to, and we've been rocking and rolling ever since. After one month, we've already seen hundreds of World of Hyatt bookings and redemptions, and we're seeing the lift that a powerful distribution system can give. If you're trying to compete against the larger hotel brands in a completely independent fashion, it's extremely difficult, and perhaps more difficult now than it's ever been. If you're aligned with them, you're going to see a lot of lift that you otherwise didn't when you weren't, and so that's what we're beginning to see, and it's exciting. Ten years ago, I think Hyatt had something like 8 million reward customers, and now they have close to 60 million, so they have expanded incredibly. 'If you're trying to compete against the larger hotel brands in a completely independent fashion, it's extremely difficult, and perhaps more difficult now than it's ever been.' Stephen Wendell CEO of Mountain Shore Properties Hyatt is a bit more selective with where they put hotels. Louisville is a market where they only have one Regency, and now, there's Hotel Genevieve. Alternatively, there's probably more than 10 Hiltons and Marriotts each in that marketplace. If a Hyatt rewards customer is looking to come to Louisville and looking at the downtown market for a hotel, only the Regency was an option before and that is a more corporate-focused, larger hotel. Hotel Genevieve is a boutique option that offers something in the cool part of town, so we think it's really going to resonate with the Hyatt customers. Hyatt acquired Standard, including the Bunkhouse brand, to really bolster its lifestyle division, its personnel, and try to create something that would stand apart from its competitive set. Ten years ago, all these big hotel companies were resisting the lifestyle movement, and now they're fully bought in. All of them have now acquired one or more companies that were operating smaller, independent collections of hotels, so it is clearly the way that the consumer is moving. We're in the very early days of what lifestyle at scale is going to look like. The big reason for Hyatt to acquire Standard is to have independent-feeling hotels across different markets and different countries. And the guest is getting their cake and eating it too. They're getting their rewards points, but they don't feel like they're staying in some can-branded experience that could be anywhere in the world. The way these hotel companies will be able to scale this — because it doesn't matter if they can add one hotel, that is nothing to their shareholder value, they need to be able to build 100 of them — is through soft brands. All of the projects that I'm working on right now are soft brands because, as a developer and owner, I don't think the hotel companies can scale in the lifestyle segment by simply putting a Thompson hotel everywhere — or a Nomad hotel to use another Hilton example. Those hard-brand hotels will become synonymous and eventually fall out of favor. You have to spend all the time on the front end to create that unique branding experience. What you're getting from the hotel companies at the end of the day is a distribution system, and they are constantly working on the (metaphorical) pipes and infrastructure of that system. All the other work is being done on the front end. So, the companies have to let the great developers, designers and branding people flex their creative muscles and do what they're good at — creating beautiful, unique concepts. Then, the companies can connect the customers with those hotels through the pipes of that distribution system. Currently, no one company is necessarily further ahead in the lifestyle segment, and definitely not so far ahead that a different one couldn't catch up and become the best. If I'm Hyatt, that is the opportunity. You may never catch Marriott in the global race for portfolio or loyalty membership scale, but you could catch them in this specific category, and that could be a huge win long term. It comes down to the people you hire. A company can have all these aspirations of what they think a particular hotel or brand can be, but ultimately, how they staff, train and get buy-in from the people on the ground that are doing the everyday work is what will end up resonating with the guest. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
